.243 vs .30-30 on deer?

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philthygeezer

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I know the ballistics differences between these two, but how do they perform relative to each other on the average Canadian whitetail deer? Does one notice any difference at the same ranges out to say 150 yards?
 
.243 out in the open, .30/30 in the woods. I personally stick with quarter bores and up for deer sized game.
 
Both are very popular deer calibers. Mostly it would come down to personal choice of the rifle as the majority of .243 are bolt action and 30-30 are lever action. My vote is for 30-30 , I believe it has more umph as it's good for moose as well. .243 could be too but I've never owned one anyways.
 
I follow energy/momentum at impact... And depending on range and bullet it is a toss-up.
 
If one is comparing the cartridges only then you would have to compare them in the same kind of rifle. Lets say a single shot "Handy-rifle".
Out to 150 yards I doubt if the hunter or the deer would know the difference. Beyond that the .243 would start to gain an advantage ballistically that could give it an advantage.

I am not a big fan of ether of them.
 
Until the CGN came along, it would have been the 243 over the 30-30 for deer, hands down. After the 243 had been on the market for a while, hunters in the US highly regarded it for a long range antelope calibre and usually thought of it as an ideal open country deer rifle.
I have made bang flop deer kills with it.
I sat with a young son while he shot a mountain goat with his 243. One shot, dead goat. And in case you're wondering, a mountain gpat is considered a very hard animal to kill. American hunting writers have often recommended a 300 Win magnum for mountain goats.
Some years ago there was a story in a Canadian hunting magazine about a hunter in Manitoba who shot a record class bull elk. One shot in the ribs with his 243.
Shortly after the 243 came on the market, a friend bought one and he and my brother went moose hunting. While driving down the Blackwater road a bull moose appeared around a bend in the trail. My friend jumped out of the vehicle with his 243, the moose trotted off, but not before our friend let fly at his west end, while the moose was going east!
There was no snow on the ground, but they followed up on the wounded moose and killed it with the 243.
With a good bullet, like a 90 to 100 grain Nosler partition, a 243 is an excellent cartridge for deer and capable of most most heavier game, in the hands of a good hunter.
 
H4831 said:
Until the CGN came along, it would have been the 243 over the 30-30 for deer, hands down. After the 243 had been on the market for a while, hunters in the US highly regarded it for a long range antelope calibre and usually thought of it as an ideal open country deer rifle.
I have made bang flop deer kills with it.
I sat with a young son while he shot a mountain goat with his 243. One shot, dead goat. And in case you're wondering, a mountain gpat is considered a very hard animal to kill. American hunting writers have often recommended a 300 Win magnum for mountain goats.
Some years ago there was a story in a Canadian hunting magazine about a hunter in Manitoba who shot a record class bull elk. One shot in the ribs with his 243.
Shortly after the 243 came on the market, a friend bought one and he and my brother went moose hunting. While driving down the Blackwater road a bull moose appeared around a bend in the trail. My friend jumped out of the vehicle with his 243, the moose trotted off, but not before our friend let fly at his west end, while the moose was going east!
There was no snow on the ground, but they followed up on the wounded moose and killed it with the 243.
With a good bullet, like a 90 to 100 grain Nosler partition, a 243 is an excellent cartridge for deer and capable of most most heavier game, in the hands of a good hunter.
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Hmmm! Do you think you could remove ".243" and replace with "30/30" and this post would read pretty good?
 
H4831 said:
I sat with a young son while he shot a mountain goat with his 243. One shot, dead goat. And in case you're wondering, a mountain gpat is considered a very hard animal to kill. American hunting writers have often recommended a 300 Win magnum for mountain goats.
.
Click to expand...

Not sure why a 200 pound animal would be considered hard to kill. They are notorious for getting into some nasty spots if hit poorly but their heart and lungs are pretty much the same as a whitetail's. With a quality bullet the 243 is pretty deadly in the right hands.....but then again....so is the 30-30. On a whitetail.....dead would be dead with either.
 
Pretty much apples to oranges here. One uses velocity to its advantage, the other utilizes the flat point bullet to full effect. Very different principals here, but both work.
 
sheephunter said:
Not sure why a 200 pound animal would be considered hard to kill. They are notorious for getting into some nasty spots if hit poorly but their heart and lungs are pretty much the same as a whitetail's.
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Most guys try to use calibers that kill goats quickly, preferably anchor them right on the spot with a shot through the shoulders as they have a tendency to be in slightly steeper terrain than whitetail and like to take a tumble at times breaking off horn tips..............but I think you knew that anyway.
 
bearkilr said:
Most guys try to use calibers that kill goats quickly, preferably anchor them right on the spot with a shot through the shoulders as they have a tendency to be in slightly steeper terrain than whitetail and like to take a tumble at times breaking off horn tips..............but I think you knew that anyway.
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Pretty sure that's what I said.....Not sure why a 243 with an appropriate bullet wouldn't anchor them on the spot with a shoulder hit. I know a 6.5mm sure will. This business of some animals being harder to kill than others, size being relative of course, has never made sense to me.
 
sheephunter said:
This business of some animals being harder to kill than others, size being relative of course, has never made sense to me.
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Maybe not necessarily harder to kill if the shot is the same, but they definitely exhibit different characteristics after being hit. For instance, moose and caribou usually don't go far, if anywhere, after a shot through the boiler room, whereas elk and whitetail have a tendency to bolt.
I would challenge your theory on some African game though. I've seen a Gemsbok absorb an unnatural amount of lead at point blank range and continue for 200 yards walking at an angle with a busted shoulder. As you know, they're not a particularly large animal.
 
H4831 said:
Until the CGN came along, it would have been the 243 over the 30-30 for deer, hands down. After the 243 had been on the market for a while, hunters in the US highly regarded it for a long range antelope calibre and usually thought of it as an ideal open country deer rifle.
I have made bang flop deer kills with it.
I sat with a young son while he shot a mountain goat with his 243. One shot, dead goat. And in case you're wondering, a mountain gpat is considered a very hard animal to kill. American hunting writers have often recommended a 300 Win magnum for mountain goats.
Some years ago there was a story in a Canadian hunting magazine about a hunter in Manitoba who shot a record class bull elk. One shot in the ribs with his 243.
Shortly after the 243 came on the market, a friend bought one and he and my brother went moose hunting. While driving down the Blackwater road a bull moose appeared around a bend in the trail. My friend jumped out of the vehicle with his 243, the moose trotted off, but not before our friend let fly at his west end, while the moose was going east!
There was no snow on the ground, but they followed up on the wounded moose and killed it with the 243.
With a good bullet, like a 90 to 100 grain Nosler partition, a 243 is an excellent cartridge for deer and capable of most most heavier game, in the hands of a good hunter.
Click to expand...
This is true. My father, owner of a .30-30 my whole life, viewed the .243 as almost mystical. A friend had a single shot Handi rifle and my father never was there that he didn't hold that rifle or comment about the cartridge's devastating range and accuracy. Unfortunately, there were not many around, .303s and .30-30s being most common, although time to time, an "over-powered" .308 or .30-06 would show up, but..." nobody needs one of them cannons just to get deer and moose".

I now have many different cartridges, but all in the .30 family. When my wife wanted to start hunting, we chose the .243 because it has proven its usefulness as a game getting cartridge. I could have kept her with my 340 or let her use a .303, or even left her with an SKS. But those are mine, let her use her own. She has yet to fail with it and tracking is non-existent. It puts the round where she wants it, bang-flop, it's dead.
 
bearkilr said:
Maybe not necessarily harder to kill if the shot is the same, but they definitely exhibit different characteristics after being hit. For instance, moose and caribou usually don't go far, if anywhere, after a shot through the boiler room, whereas elk and whitetail have a tendency to bolt.
I would challenge your theory on some African game though. I've seen a Gemsbok absorb an unnatural amount of lead at point blank range and continue for 200 yards walking at an angle with a busted shoulder. As you know, they're not a particularly large animal.
Click to expand...

Every gemsbok I've seen shot well has fallen down in very short order....perhaps shot placement is the key?

No doubt that the fight or flight response from a poor shot varies on some animals but I'm not convinced that any are "harder" to kill than others. Size being relative of course. Harder to retrieve after a less than perfect shot...sure, I could be convinced of that but then hole diameter may not be the only deciding factor in ensuring a quicker retrieve. In fact I can pretty well ensure it's not.
 
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